I finally sat down and watched Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc. Overall I was mostly pleased by it. I both liked and disliked the conflated story at various points, but for the most part it seemed to stay true to the story and spirit of the original with one major exception.

I guess it could be argued that Shishio was dying at the end of his fight with Kenshin, but it didn't really explain that if that was in fact the case. This made it seem like Kenshin actually killed him at the end of their duel.I did really appreciate seeing RuroKen in contemporary animation. It looked fantastic. I hope they can find the time, the budget, and the story to do more. In the meantime, I'll look forward to the release of the new live-action movie.

IIRC, Shishio dies because his body's a fucked up piece of shit that's incapable of regulating his core body temperature without assistance or a significant amount of cool-down time, and he had the bright idea of trying to duke it out with one of the greatest swordsmen of his era in a protracted sword fight. All Kenshin had to do was keep the fight going until Shishio either keeled over or gave up, and then Shishio burst into flames because it's anime and it would've been too hard/boring/lame to depict the arc's main villain dying due to severe heat exhaustion/heat stroke.

Yes, I am aware of that, but that isn't how it shakes down in New Kyoto Arc. I know it isn't canonical, but Kenshin does appear to exploit Shishio's weakness in the retelling, and not by simply having the endurance to draw Shishio into a protracted fight.

In New Kyoto Arc, when Shishio gets close to his limit, blood explodes down the center of his skull. Not long afterward, when Kenshin delivers the decisive blow, he hits the metal plate on Shishio's head with the end of his sword hilt in a way reminiscent of the head attack in the Kuzuryuusen. Shishio's skull splits in half after the blow, though he is still alive enough at that point that he pushes his head back together. When you see him next he is lying on the floor and appears to be dead making it seem that he didn't die due to his body's inability to regulate its heat (as in the original story), but as a direct result of Kenshin's attack

Finished Mushi-shi Season 2, good but not quite as good as first season, Yowapeda is simply amazing! Unrealistic but amazing none the less. On a whim I started The iDOLM@STER and Bodacious Space Pirates, so far pirates are winning....

Finished Mushi-shi Season 2, good but not quite as good as first season, Yowapeda is simply amazing! Unrealistic but amazing none the less. On a whim I started The iDOLM@STER and Bodacious Space Pirates, so far pirates are winning....

Mushishi was funny for me. While my memories of the series specifics faded in the years after I saw it, the feeling and mood it conveyed remained fresh in my mind. I was really fond of how watching that made me feel. Intrigued with the supernatural and psychological nature of the series but completely hooked and drawn into the episodic mysteries by the tranquil nature it consistently portrayed. It was like the perfect blend of what would happen if you mixed the twilight zone with some chinese folklore or something.

Thought it was gonna suck at first when I saw the cliche tool of a main character... Boy was I wrong. It only took the first five episodes to safely say I'm hooked.

I've only read the manga of that. Let me just say that, assuming the anime follows the manga completely, that series is going to get messed up...well that implies it was at some point not messed up. It will get more messed up in the future.

I really enjoy watching Code Geass, but there are a tons of things it does that I usually give other shows a lot of flak for, and I don't think I could really describe why it works for me when shows with similar themes and excecution make me cringe.

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“MY NAME IS POKEY THE PENGUIN I LOVE CHESS!! IT IS LIKE BALLET ONLY WITH MORE EXPLOSIONS!”I Draw Stuff Sometimes

I really enjoy watching Code Geass, but there are a tons of things it does that I usually give other shows a lot of flak for, and I don't think I could really describe why it works for me when shows with similar themes and excecution make me cringe.

I really enjoy watching Code Geass, but there are a tons of things it does that I usually give other shows a lot of flak for, and I don't think I could really describe why it works for me when shows with similar themes and excecution make me cringe.

Any particular examples?

I wish, but every time I sit down to write my thoughts, my mind goes blank...

« Last Edit: July 05, 2014, 10:39:36 PM by Mickeymac92 »

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“MY NAME IS POKEY THE PENGUIN I LOVE CHESS!! IT IS LIKE BALLET ONLY WITH MORE EXPLOSIONS!”I Draw Stuff Sometimes